


Quiet Dancing

by Schyven



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dancing, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5004622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schyven/pseuds/Schyven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the full moon as their silent judge among the clouds, and the ocean has their calm audience, they danced to a beat of shushing waves and singing wind. Their steps are sure and true, despite the shifting of sand beneath their toes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet Dancing

_“May I have this dance?”_

       With the full moon as their silent judge among the clouds, and the ocean has their calm audience, they danced to a beat of shushing waves and singing wind. Their steps are sure and true, despite the shifting of sand beneath their toes. They dance around one another as opposed to with, keeping a respectable distance between themselves (though it is mostly Pearl who keeps her distance. She dare not pass any of Lapis’ boundaries.). Pearl pirouettes and leaps and twirls around Lapis and Lapis twists and whirls and skips around Pearl. Their feet kicking up sand and water. Lapis finds herself free from the threat of flying sand, as Pearl effortlessly draws back her arms -the motion blending fluidly with her dancing- and wills it away from her whenever they stray too close. Likewise, Lapis brings herself to throw out her arms out every so often, just to keep the water from splashing onto her companion.

       Each passing second and the raising of the tide draws them closer together. For every time Lapis felt the accidental brush of Pearl’s fingers against her long, navy blue skirt, or her unclothed toes graze the pale flesh of the other’s arms, she would inch a little closer. Closer. Closer. Until the taller gem could no longer spread out her limbs without smacking Lapis in the face and Lapis could no longer kick out her legs without sweeping Pearl off her feet-in the literal sense. Still, despite their new proximity, Pearl did not let that deter her dancing. She simply switched up her moves, the twist of her hips allowing Lapis to duck under her arms, the lift of a leg to avoid tripping her, and ignoring the way the blue Gem’s dress flowed around her arms or legs. And yet still the pale Gem expertly weaves around Lapis, bending and twisting her body just so to avoid any physical contact that was not accidental.

       Lapis follows the push and pull of the ocean. She steps back with the water and surges forward with the waves, drawing even closer, closer, closer to the pale gem. If Pearl is at all bothered by her erratic movement, she shows absolutely no sign of it-Her expression one of serenity.

       When they are up to their ankles in the cool water, Lapis dares to reach out and intertwine her fingers with Pearl’s. It is abrupt and unexpected, forcing the taller gem to still her arm lest she unintentionally pull Lapis into the cool water. Though the transition itself is a stutter in their elegant, seemingly never-ending performance, neither of them pause and they easily guide one another through their dance, no longer afraid of physical contact.

       Lapis holds Pearl close, their bodies flush against one another. It’s daring and bold and strange, but Pearl doesn’t complain-In fact, she rather likes it. She allows Lapis to lead her through a slow, slow dance. They sway in place, in rhythm with the wind, and ignore the crashing of waves around them. When Lapis suddenly steps back, when she looks at the other Gem with those expectant eyes, Pearl knows it is her turn to lead without ever having to hear the words. And so, Pearl twirls and lifts Lapis off the ground. She held her close and pushed her away, only to pull her back. Never did she ever try to dip her, however.

       Dipping was dangerous territory, and Pearl was a -more often than not- cautious gem.

       Both gems refused to slow even as the water continued to rise over their knees. Powerful limbs carried them through the water effortlessly, gliding through just as they would air. Their dancing continued through the coaxing waves, standing fast and firm against the tug of the current.

       It continued even as the curtains close upon their silent judge, thick, gray clouds obscuring the moon and snuffing out its light. Even as they lost sense of who was spinning who. Even as they lost sense of who guided who. Even as, in a white hot flash of light, they lost sense of who stopped where and the other continued.

       They felt warm all around, an embrace that kept them together.

       They-No, _she_ continued where _they_ left off. With the waters lapping at her ankles, and the moon finally peeking through the heavy clouds, she threw herself into a solo performance. Pirouette. Twist. Leap. Whirl. Twirl. Skip. She moves through the motions with grace and precision, never slowing and tiring. Time moved on and she moved with it.

       A distant shout of “Pearl,” voice groggy and heavy with sleep, snapped her back into reality-The reality of the rising sun, the lowering tide, and the drying sand beneath her feet. And, though she was quite a distance away from the beach house, there is no doubt in her mind -in her buried consciousnesses- that the one who calls for Pearl is Steven. She took this as her cue to leave.

       Another white hot flash, the second to occur within the span of hours. Dark, navy blue eyes stared up into sky blue ones. They once again had a respectable distance between each other. After the briefest of pauses, Lapis and Pearl concluded their endless dance with a curtsy and bow.

       Pearl left Lapis by the shore that morning with the unspoken promise that they would continue their dance some other day.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the first day of the Pearlapis Bomb on Tumblr. I decided I might as well post this here as well, since I am pretty proud of it. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
